Faded Glory
by Temari of the Desert
Summary: He wasn’t a hero. He broke his promise to Sakura. He destroyed his way of the ninja. He definitely wasn’t a hero. But a certain Suna kuniochi considers him her hero… Naruto x Temari, oneshot


**Faded Glory  
Summary: This wasn't his Way of the Ninja. Everything was supposed to okay. Always. He was supposed to be the hero. But he broke his promise to Sakura, destroyed his Way of the Ninja, and realized how worthless he really was. He wasn't a hero. If he was a hero, then where was Sasuke? How can he cope, finally knowing the truth? A certain Suna kuniochi assures him that he is definitely her hero.  
Pairings: Naruto x Temari  
Genres: Romance/Angst  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Fluff, swearing, Naruto angst, Temari angst. **

A/N: Hello again. This is my fourth Naruto x Temari fic, and I hope I'm not losing my touch! Here we go!

**Faded Glory **

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Temari stared concerned at the younger blonde ninja. The younger boy had taken a state of total thoughtfulness. That was very unlike the energetic boy, so unlike him that it almost scared the kuniochi. She didn't dare disturb him at the moment, he seemed to be having some sort of inner conflict, which didn't surprise the Suna kuniochi, the young boy had lost his best friend, broken his promise to his teammate, basically lost almost everything he had work for. It was a lot of mental stress on the boy.

As the kuniochi watched, Naruto was indeed having an inner conflict. He had disobeyed his Way of the Ninja. He promised Sakura he'd bring back Sasuke. Why hadn't he done it? Where the hell was Sasuke, and what did he think he was doing? No, Naruto couldn't think of himself as a hero anymore. Not when he had failed to save his teammate. He had broken a promise; therefore, he had broken his Way of the Ninja. The always-confident ninja was at last, breaking down. He couldn't cope with the fact that he had let down Sakura. He had let down Sasuke, Shikamaru, Chouji, Neji, Kiba, and himself. He was only dimly aware of the girl that was watching him, the girl that was Gaara's sister…

Finally, pale pink lips parted and said softly, "The going of your teammate is not your fault at all." She said comfortingly, "Ninjas always come and go; there is no way to stop them." Her words were meant to comfort the younger boy, but that wasn't what happened. Unable to contain himself, the younger boy began to cry. Despite his tears, he didn't make a sound. He didn't sniffle, sob, or any other sort of sound. Just silent tears, streaming down his cheeks, making his eyes puffy and red. He was ashamed of himself. Ashamed of letting the kunoichi's words get to him, ashamed at the fact that her words were true, and ashamed for the breaking down. The girl that was watching him found herself wanting to embrace him, comfort him, to wipe away his tears and tell him everything would be okay.

But she didn't. She didn't dare. Not when the boy was in a state of emotional despair. She had learned that sometimes, people just wanted to cry in peace. Of course, she hadn't been expecting **the **Uzumaki Naruto to just break down and start crying because of the way things were. That just didn't seem like the Uzumaki Naruto she knew. But then again, who was to say that she knew the real Naruto? Who knew the real Naruto? Blinking, the girl started to turn to leave, but then thought better of it. Leaving might actually make things worse rather than better. Instead, she used her normal, rough attitude, "I didn't think you'd be the type to just cry for yourself." The words were rough themselves, but Temari's voice was softer than anybody would expect—especially Naruto. The words stung him, yes, but the tone of voice she used… it was different. Why was she using that type of voice with him…?

"…I'm not crying for myself." Naruto denied. His fingers went to his face, but Temari made it there first. Her gentle fingers wiped away the tears from his cheeks as blue eyes stared at her, questioning without saying anything. Her dark eyes searched Naruto's light ones only momentarily before she spoke again.

"You should stop trying to be a hero. You'll never be able to make everything perfect, keep every promise. It's a fool's goal." Her fingers lingered on his face a bit longer than was necessary. Pulling away from him, she looked over his body. Blonde hair, blue eyes… his headband and coat were on the back of a chair nearby, leaving him in his orange pants and black shirt. The effect was well…hot. Temari never thought of being attracted to Naruto in that way, but yet, here she was, thinking of exactly how hot he looked without his coat. A light tinge of pink shaded her cheeks, but she ignored it and hoped he would as well.

"I'm not a hero. If I was hero, then I would have been able to bring back Sasuke." Naruto told her, feeling like he could tell her anything without worrying about looking like an idiot. The kuniochi made him comfortable… it was different than he was used to, it was he could trust her no matter what, and she'd stick by him. He didn't understand what this was, he just…didn't.

Temari remembered Sasuke, the raven-haired boy she had meant so long ago during the Chuunin Exam. Back then, she had been mesmerized by how hot the Uchiha was. How strong he was, being able to hit Kankurou like that… so mesmerized that she hadn't really noticed the other blonde boy. She had been a bit upset to learn that the Uchiha had escaped the village, and they dispatched a bunch of genins to get him back. Eagerly, the Suna trio had agreed to the mission. She never saw Sasuke again. "Sasuke made his choice, you can't prevent that." When Naruto looked like he was going to cry again, she pulled him to her chest, and told him softly, "If you want to cry again, feel free to do so." The boy was shaking in the effort to keep in the tears, so Temari began to stroke his hair gently, trying to calm him.

Naruto automatically stopped shaking, his eyes wide. What was Temari doing…? After a few moments, he felt her fingers in his hair, gently stroking, and he felt himself relax against the older girl. He felt this overwhelming temptation to kiss her, to protect her. But she was Gaara's sister. No matter what Temari was doing, it was wrong…right? He couldn't bring himself to believe in his own reasoning. The urge to kiss her was really overwhelming, and he knew he had to pull away from her if he didn't want to lose control. He succeeded in freeing himself from Temari's embrace, but once he did, Temari captured his lips in a kiss.

His eyes widened again. But this little bit of reassurance was enough to make Naruto respond back. He put one arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him, loving the feel of her body warmth against his. Once the two pulled away from each other, Temari put her head on his shoulder, her breath against his neck. Slowly, but not hesitantly, she began to speak.

"Naruto-kun, you will always be my hero."

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Aww… this is so cute to me. Short and sweet as always, I don't have a fetish for long stories, I'm sorry. Yes, the 'hero' thing was the whole theme. X.x Okay, I'm done.


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